A sports cliche has it
that the best defense is a good offense. In life, an equally important
component of a good defense is not giving offense dignity and recognition in
the first place. By protecting the dignity of others as if it were our own, we
not only give them their due but simultaneously protect ourselves by preempting
the desire for retaliation. Thomas Paine recognized this dynamic when he
wrote, "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will
reach to himself."

Despite injunctions
toward morality--like that implicit in Shakespeare's lines and Paine's admonition--and
lip service paid to ethical behavior, history repeatedly demonstrates that
morals are often ignored in practice, by the secular and religious alike. Had
everyone honored the golden rule, segregation and other forms of racial
discrimination would have been unthinkable and there would have been no need
for the civil rights movement.

Though moral precepts
may point the way, politics plays an indispensable role in actually changing
human behavior. Political principles, as embodied in law, are essential if we
want to close the gap that often exists between ethical ideals and common
practice. A dignitarian politics gives teeth to the golden rule by making
explicit a standard of compliance--equal dignity regardless of rank. It also
calls to account those charged with enforcing this principle.

Given the remarkable
achievements of the identity-based liberation movements, it's not unrealistic
to imagine a day when everyone's equal dignity will be as self-evident as
everyone's right to own property or to vote. (The current exception to the
right to vote--people below the age of eighteen in most countries--will be
addressed in chapter 5.) As others' right to dignity becomes axiomatic, our own
responsibility not to insult their dignity becomes a corollary.

Indignity and Malrecognition

Peter Gloystein, economy
minister in the state of Bremen..., poured wine over the head of homeless Udo
Oelschlaeger during the launch of German Wine Week. "Here's something for you
to drink," he said as he doused Mr.Oelschlaeger,who was standing next to the
podium at the public, open-air event.

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"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" a
tearful Mr.Oelschlaeger retorted.

Mr. Gloystein, who was
subsequently forced to resign his ministerial post, said he'd later met Mr.
Oelschlaeger, who explained his difficult life. Mr. Gloystein apologized and
they departed on friendly terms.

The preventive for
indignity and its many far-ranging consequences is recognition.What is required
is an understanding and appreciation of each person's role and the
contributions he or she makes to others and the world. These can be anything
into which time, effort, and care have been put--a home, a scientific theory, a
dance, a business plan, a garden, a cake, an office, or vacuuming the floor of
that office at midnight.

Ultimately, it is
through contributing to others that individuals, groups, and nations secure
their dignity. For example, parental acknowledgment for setting the family
table affirms a child's dignity. At the group level, the influence that African-American
blues had on music is a source of black pride. The defeat of the German army on
the eastern front during World War II remains a source of national pride to citizens
of the former Soviet Union.

To be effective,
recognition must be commensurate with contribution. Genuine recognition must be
differentiated from false or inflated praise, which is experienced as
condescension and can be worse than no recognition at all. The self-esteem
movement fell into disrepute because the respect it offered was too often fake
and exaggerated. Too much recognition for too little actually undermines
dignity; we feel patronized. Likewise, disproportionately little recognition is
experienced as disrespectful.

Perhaps worst of all is
denying people even the opportunity to contribute. That says to someone,"You
are so obviously worthless that we're not even going to give you a chance to
show us what you can do. You might as well not exist. Here, let me pour some wine on your head."

Recognition is to the identity what food is to the
body--indispensable. By confirming our identity and affirming our dignity,
recognition provides assurance that our membership in the group is secure. Absent this, our survival is at risk.Without recognition, individuals may sink dignity and recognition
into self-doubt and subgroups are marginalized and primed for exploitation.

Dignity and recognition
are inseparable.We can't all be famous, but fortunately, recognition is not
limited to the red carpet. We can learn to understand the effects on those who
are either denied a chance to seek it or from whom it is otherwise withheld,
and take steps to prevent malrecognition--that
is, too little or no recognition at all--as we now do to prevent malnutrition.

Despite many attempts to
eradicate the latter--and assurances from experts that it is actually within our
power to do so--hunger and malnutrition persist. Eliminating invisibility and
malrecognition is no less daunting a challenge. But with respect to this task, we've only just begun. The science of malrecognition is in its infancy.